Strain Hunters
A documentary series linked to Amsterdam's Green House Seed Company that goes looking for rare landraces, and the showman who started it.
- 4cup results
- 2first places
- 2012–2018active in results
- 3cups entered
01Beginnings
Strain Hunters is a documentary series, not a breeder in the usual sense, and its story starts with the company behind it. Arjan Roskam and Scott Blakey co-founded the Green House Seed Company in Amsterdam in 19941. The firm's founding seed stock is reported to have been built on the collection Sam Skunkman brought with him when he moved to the Netherlands in 19841.
The series came later. It was started by Roskam, and it is credited to Green House Seed Company12. The sources available here do not say how the idea for it took shape, and they do not describe the earliest filming.
02The story so far
In 1998 Blakey, who also goes by Shantibaba, sold his share of Green House to Roskam, which left Roskam as the firm's sole owner1. Ten years later, in 2008, Roskam launched the Strain Hunters documentaries. They present him travelling the world in search of rare or endangered landraces1. The sources do not explain how those searches are carried out.
The sources name and date one episode. The 2010 Malawi Expedition followed Green House's hunt for the origin of Malawi Gold and featured Franco Loja, Arjan Roskam, Simon and Dust2. These sources describe no other specific episode.
The story has a contested side. Roskam has drawn public criticism for claiming a hand in developing and selecting White Widow and Super Silver Haze, and for trying to register trademarks and patents on seed varieties. According to the source, these claims largely conflict with Blakey's version of events1. He has also faced allegations of bribing judges at past Cannabis Cup competitions. The source reports these only as allegations1.
03Culture and reputation
Roskam is known beyond the series. He appeared in the Marijuana episode of National Geographic's Drugs, Inc., where he spoke about his work in the cannabis trade1. He has given himself the title "King of Cannabis", and others have likened him to the showman P.T. Barnum1.
Malawi Gold is a separate subject from the series, although the 2010 episode set out to find where it came from. The Wikipedia article on cannabis in Malawi calls it one of Africa's best-known sativa strains2. The same article records that Bob Marley reportedly smoked it in Harare in 1980, while he was in Zimbabwe for an Independence tour concert2. That anecdote is part of the strain's history, not the history of Strain Hunters.
04Where things stand now
The sources used for this page do not cover the current status of Strain Hunters. The latest dated series item they mention is the 2010 Malawi Expedition episode2. That does not mean the series ended in 2010. It only means the available material gives no later dates or updates.
05What comes next
The sources used for this page mention no announced future plans for Strain Hunters. If the series announces new plans, this section can be updated from a source that states them.
On the podium, in our data
CannaLib records 4 cup results naming Strain Hunters, between 2012 and 2018, 2 of them first places.
Where they showed up
- Spannabis Champions Cup · 2 entries
- Expogrow Cannabis Cup (Irún) · 1 entries
- High Times Cannabis Cup (Amsterdam) · 1 entries
Strains behind the results
Sources
Written from the sources above and checked on 2026-10-29. Spot an error? Tell us on the contact page.